‘I made Phil Taylor a monster – I thrashed him and turned him into world’s finest’
Former darts world champion Dennis Priestley claims he turned Phil Taylor right into a trophy-hoovering monster by smashing him just a few occasions within the early Nineteen Nineties.
The 73-year-old misplaced to The Power a whopping 37 occasions over the course of his illustrious profession, choosing up simply six wins. But these wins, Priestley claims, had been the making of Taylor, who went on to set an ordinary of dominance no participant has managed earlier than or since.
The Menace beat Taylor en path to his first world title triumph in 1991, and beat him once more within the very first PDC World Darts Championship ultimate in 1994. Taylor responded by profitable the subsequent eight successive championships, beating Priestley in 4 of the finals.
READ MORE: ‘I’m an ex-PDC world darts champ – Michael Smith’s eye has gone off the ball’
Speaking to OLBG, Priestley mentioned he was “proud” to have gotten the higher of Taylor again within the day, and likewise reckoned his preliminary superiority over the Stoke-born star spurred him on to change into arguably the best darts participant of all time.
“Looking back on the first one, everyone dwells on how many times Phil beat me in the finals but I beat him in the quarter-finals before I won my first one against Eric Bristow,” Priestley mentioned. It was additionally a proud second once I gave him a superb thrashing within the very first PDC event. That thrashing I gave him made him the participant he turned. It made him a monster at darts.”
Will any darts participant ever have a higher legacy than Phil Taylor? Let us know within the feedback part beneath.
(Image: Getty Images)
Priestley and Taylor had been nice rivals within the 90s but in addition nice associates, to such an extent that they shared their prize cash with one another, previous to the game’s spectacular monetary increase within the 2000s.
“Looking back on the situation, I shouldn’t have let him get that close to me in terms of friendly wise,” Priestley admitted final 12 months. “I was 10 years senior to him, and I was not a teenager in my 20s. I believe he learnt a lot from me but I should have not let him get too close to me.”
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Taylor amassed a staggering 16 world titles over the course of his profession, a tally Priestley is definite won’t ever be matched. “Phil and his record will never be overtaken,” he mentioned. “It is possible, but in my opinion, no one will get near the 16 world championships and all his other titles.
“If you’re a prime participant and dominate for a decade, you will have completed extraordinarily nicely. Phil roughly dominated for 20 years which was outstanding.”